By: Nwosu Collins
The federal government has taken a decisive step against workers in the public and private sectors holding fake degree certificates obtained from Benin and Togo Republics. Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, announced the approval of dismissals during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, marking his one-year anniversary in office.
The decision follows a federal executive council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu, which adopted recommendations from an inter-ministerial committee. The committee investigated an undercover report by DAILY NIGERIAN in December, exposing the ease of obtaining fake degree certificates from unlicensed institutions in Benin and Togo.
The report revealed how an undercover reporter, Umar Audu, obtained a degree certificate from Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic, in less than two months. Audu even used the fake certificate to participate in the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) for the second time, despite having already completed the program five years earlier.
Mamman emphasized that most institutions attended by Nigerian students in Benin and Togo are not licensed to offer degree programs, rendering their certificates invalid.